The founder and CEO of MyMedicines, Abimbola Adebakin has been named among the winners of the inaugural Bayer Foundation Women Empowerment Award.
MyMedicines which was founded by Adebakin in 2017, is a digital health startup that provides genuine and affordable medicines in addition to last-mile delivery. The mission of MyMedicines is to make rare drugs available for Nigerians across the country.
Adebakin was selected as a winner at a virtual Bayer Foundation Women Empowerment Award event held on May 10th, 2021. The jury judged the 10 finalists on five key criteria: (1) challenge addressed, (2) innovation potential, (3) business model, (4) KPIs & traceability, and (5) entrepreneurial fit & team.
The other four winners are Morenike Fajemisin- Whispa Health, Cynthia Mene-Vetsark, Angella Kyomugisha- Kaaro Health and Caitlin Dolkart- Flare.
The award benefits for all five includes 25,000 EUR in cash plus 25,000 EUR in the form of a 24-week growth accelerator. During this period, the winners will receive tailored support and training for scaling, including active investor feedback.
In addition, they will be able to tap into an extensive network of Bayer experts, who will offer coaching both in health and nutrition as well as sustainable agriculture-related focus areas. Last but not least, all winners will become part of Bayer Foundation’s exceptional global alumni and partner network, which offers the opportunity to raise capital and exchange knowledge about experience gained.
Commenting, Monika Lessl, Executive Director of Bayer Foundation said: “Studies have shown that women play a central role in bringing change and working towards a more equal society. We also see this in our daily work.
“In the many years of Bayer Foundation’s activities, the positive impact of strong women has been a central theme. They are the change-makers we need. As a basic principle for our activities, we, therefore, have chosen to strengthen and highlight the role of women as leaders in science and as entrepreneurs.”
With the Women Empowerment Award, Bayer Foundation aims to empower women as key change makers and help female entrepreneurs generate social impact in Sub-Saharan Africa.
